I´m running into an issue that I detected today. I have the following paypal button config :
We had the same problem. You need to enable "PDT", then the custom field will be returned in the "cm" variable of the return url post.
"Auto Return" also needs to be enabled to use "PDT", but you can still set the return URL in the button form post instead of in the "Auto Return" config if you need it to be dynamic.
https://developer.paypal.com/docs/classic/products/payment-data-transfer/
Try out this sandbox pay button and see what the response looks like when it is recorded on our return URL.